KCWC Day 3: Jalie 2806 (again)

E's tulip-sleeved Jalie 2806 from the spring KCWC was probably her most worn shirt all summer, so yesterday I made her a long-sleeved version using the sleeve pattern from 2805. I also used the hem band to add a bit of length and avoid hemming rib knit!

With the hem band, it is very, very long. Tunic length, but kind of narrow, even on my skinny girly. I think it's meant to kind of bunch up a bit, and it is nice that it doesn't ride up when she puts her arms over her head.

I think with this particular knit, though, I could have cut a straight H, rather than a G width/H length that I used for her other one. It bunches some around her chest. Or maybe that's because of the band.  Hmm... I might try removing it and just hemming it to see what happens.

Have you looked at all the great things in the KCWC Flickr Group?  So inspiring!

KCWC Day 2: Owl Shoes (with a tutorial for altering a soft shoes pattern for use with braces)

I did sew on Day 1 (Monday), but it's a gift and the mama of the recipient is a reader, so I'm waiting to blog until she gets it.

Yesterday E got her new braces, so she also needed new shoes to fit them.  I was going to just make a quick plain pair, but then I got sidetracked by the idea of an owl applique.  You know how these things go.  The applique took longer than the shoe construction.  Ha.

I took a few pictures along the way, thinking there may be someone else out there who might need to make something similar. E doesn't wear them outside, so she really just needs a lightweight non-skid covering for her braces. A soft-soled shoe is perfect, but the braces add considerable bulk, necessitating some pattern alterations.

You will need a basic soft-soled shoe pattern.  I use the Darling Diapers Minimoc pattern (scroll to the bottom left of this page). You will also need some sort of non-slip sole material.  I like Toughtek, which is a rubberized material that is durable but easy to sew. I found some on Etsy when E got her first pair of braces.

Trace one of the braces and add a 1/4" seam allowance or whatever your pattern requires. If the braces are different lengths, you will need to trace each one; otherwise just remember to flip the pattern piece over when you are cutting the soles so you'll have a left and a right piece. Soft shoe patterns are often the same for both feet, but I like the snugger fit that you get from making a left and a right shoe.

Compare your new sole piece to the sole pieces provided.  E's was close to the size 2 (she has tiny feet!). Trace the comparable toe piece pattern onto Easy Pattern or some other material that is easy to manipulate. You will need to adjust the toe piece for the added bulk of the braces, creating additional volume in the toe box.  Cut directly down the center of the piece to the tip of the toe.  Now drape this over one of the braces.  One  of E's has a 1 cm lift, so that was the brace that I used. Making sure to take the seam allowance into consideration, measure how far apart the middle cut edges are. I needed 2.5" of additional room.

My measurement was across the strap with the bees.

Retrace a new pattern piece with your old piece spread as much as your measurement.  You may also need to smooth out the curve on toe edge a bit (not pictured). Transfer any markings.

You can see how much wider my new pattern piece is compared to the original.

If one has a lift, you may want to add some additional height to the heel piece also.  I just sized up one size.

Now that you have your pieces, you can add any embellishments and follow the sewing instructions as normal.

The brace on the right is the one with the lift.

There is hidden elastic on this pair, but on her old ones, I used elastic cord and a toggle.  This was handy both for getting them on easily and for tightening up the one that was less bulky, since I made the both to fit the larger brace. If these don't say on as well, I will switch out the elastic for some cord and a toggle also.

The originals

Trying them out in her walker this morning.

Another Apron

It's the year of the apron! I'd only made two ever prior to 2012 and now this is my fifth -- or sixth if you count the RTW one I appliqued -- of the year.

This one as a request from my sister-in-law for her husband. She said he was looking for something with  more coverage and pockets. We picked dark gray twill for durability and stain-hiding.

I used the J. Caroline Creative tutorial, which I'd made before and still had the pattern piece.  To make it larger, I lined it up 1.5" from the fold.

I think the "wrinkle-ease" fabric means it wrinkles easily!  It was a pain.

Then I extended the side by 4", following the curve already established.

The pockets were made from an 8x21" piece, hemmed along the top, sides and bottom turned under and then sewn on, with two additional lines of stitching to divide it into thirds.

I made self-fabric ties from 2" strips of fabric folded to the middle and then folded in half (there's probably a term for this, but you know what I mean, right?), sewn on and then bar-tacked to reinforce them.

O agreed to model as long as I didn't include his head in the shot. The cat volunteered herself.

She can't resist long strings of any kind.

Faux Tie & Linen Shorts

When we started discussing wedding attire, O was adamant than he wanted to wear a long-sleeved button-down with a tie. Since it was going to be an outside wedding on a hot and humid day, I tried to persuade him to wear a polo or a short-sleeved shirt, but he apparently has strong opinions about appropriate clothing for nuptials. 

Initially he wanted a tie from the Star Wars fabric, but there wasn't enough left and he wasn't going for the bow tie idea. We then went fabric shopping together, but nothing caught his eye (there wasn't any more of that comic print at Joann's), so he decided on the scale-esque print he'd chosen for his teacher's gift. He ended up coordinating with the wedding party too! The boy has good taste.

I used this pattern, but changed it so that there was no hand sewing involved. Woo-hoo! (I did take pictures of the process, so if anyone would be interested in a tutorial, let me know.)

Next time I would also have a tube of fabric covering the elastic for a few inches on either side of the "knot." Once he had it on, the elastic showed. Not a huge deal for a seven-year-old, but I'd prefer it to look more like a real tie. He didn't have the top button done up, though, which may have affected the fit, or I may have cut the elastic a bit too long.

I had free reign over the pants decision and decided to make longer shorts out of some linen blend that I had in my stash from the Jedi costume.  Love stash-busting!

Since I already had the Hot Scott pattern traced, I used it again, but with the recommended 5/8" seam allowance.  That helped the fit of the 5T pattern for my 7X boy.  Much better, though still generous.  To make the shorts a bit dressier, I left off the cargo pockets and replaced the back pockets with the flaps from the Linus Shorts in Ottobre 3/08. Then I agonized over the buttons, which was pointless, since his shirt was untucked the whole time.

Post-wedding wrinkles! 

"What, this old thing?"

He received many, many compliments, which he seemed to enjoy immensely.  He did, however, turn down all dance requests from the ladies.  Except Mom.

Rosy Posy Dress & Pantalets

Ray's cousin got married in the end of July, which seems so long ago now. It was crazy hot, so I tried to come up with lightweight clothes for the kids.

For E, I made the Rosy Posy dress from Ottobre 3/11 (size 98 width, 104 length). It's more of a classic little girl look than I usually go for, but I fell in love with the little puffed sleeves.

Imagine my surprise when I sewed them up and they were longer and not the least bit puffed.  Turns out I had accidentally traced the sleeve from the Sunny Sailor dress in the same issue.  Ooops!  I had just barely enough fabric left to trace the correct sleeve piece, although one had to be slightly off grain.

One of my friends made E a dress from this same print for her first birthday!

Once that debacle was taken care of, the rest of the dress was easy. I was very proud of my pattern matching in the back.

Just don't look too closely at how the left side is slightly shorter than the right.

This was my first attempt at thread belt loops. I used this technique and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. It just looked too easy, but it really was.

I also made the Pantalets from Ottobre 2/03 for under E's dress.  I sewed her a pair two summers ago, too, and she wore them a lot. I love how lightweight they are when made from muslin. I managed to screw up tracing this pattern too, and originally made the longer version. I didn't realize my mistake until I had already sewn the trim on. I didn't have any extra -- or time to get more, since I was working at the last minute, as usual -- so I picked out the stitches, cut them shorter, re-hemmed, and re-sewed the trim.  Worth the effort, I think.

This is why the girl needs something under dresses. I'm fairly certain she enjoys showing off her contortionist abilities.

Coming up tomorrow: O's wedding outfit.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge: Fall 2012

One week until the next round of KCWC begins!  Time to catch up on my blogging. I haven't sewn a whole lot since my last post, but I do have a few things to share -- including the kids' outfits from a wedding.  In July.  Eek. 

Will you be sewing along? 

 

 

Summer Quilt Blocks

I've been participating in a quilt block exchange in one of my Facebook groups.  We started in June, and the "queen bee" for that month requested a log cabin or wonky log cabin block in bright colors.  I went with wonky.  I think I would make some of the strips a bit wonkier if I were to do it again, but it was big enough that she can wonkify (spell check doesn't approve of that made-up word!) it more if she wants when she squares it up.

July's recipient requested an Eccentric Star block in rainbow colors.  O. helped me pick out the stripe, and I added the yellow print to echo the star motif.  I completely lost track of July and didn't finish this block until today.  *hangs head in shame*

I went ahead and sewed the August block today too, a Wonky Pinwheel in orange and white.  This one was quick!

I've done very little quilting -- just baby quilts for some of my nieces and nephews when I was high school and college -- so this has been fun. We still have seven more, plus my month, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the other participants choose. Maybe it'll give me the motivation to actually make quilts for our bed and for the kids!